The New Girl
by Shax
Summary: A female echidna is brought to Knothole. Sonic is suspicious.


THE NEW GIRL 

Series 2 - The Three Tests   
Episode 1 

[Visit Shax's Virtual Den][1]   
[E-mail the author][2]

PROLOGUE: 

"Nice, isn't she?" commented Packbell. "Very much so." replied Mecha. "Do you think she will complete her mission?" Packbell nodded. "We shall see." he said. "I think she will do well." 

Sonic walked down the narrow path through the forest to Knothole. His night-time vision wasn't the best, so he had to feel his way around. However, he was quite familiar with this part of the forest, so it was rather easy. Suddenly, he heard a sound behind him. He spun around. There was a pair of eyes. They weren't white like most, they were blood red. The black pupil inside them bulged with delight. "Hello." came a voice. Sonic froze. He couldn't see who it was in the darkness. "Who's there?" he asked. "Just a friendly wanderer." came the reply. There was a pause. Sonic stumbled back. The voice was screechy and high pitched, and not at all friendly-sounding. "Mind if I have a bite?" it asked. Sonic looked around. "A bite? I don't have any food!" he heard a giggle. "Oh, you have more food than you think you have!" it said. Sonic didn't like the sound of that. He backed off more quickly. Then, the eyes closed, effectively making the figure invisible. Sonic panicked, and turned to run, but something landed on him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He kicked the thing off, and sped away through the bushes. Nothing much scared him, but right now he was scared solid. About seven kilometers into the bush, he became convinced that he was not being followed by the thing, and hurriedly made his way back to Knothole. 

"Construction is finished, sir." announced Packbell. Robotnik swiveled his chair to face the android. "Realistic?" he asked. "Incredibly." came the reply. Robotnik grinned. "Excellent. Now, we need to put Plan A into action. Are the SWAT bots ready?" "Yes sir." "And the android?" "Ready and waiting, sir." "Excellent. Proceed." Packbell left the room. Mecha Sonic remained. He was not needed in the setting up of the latest plan. Robotnik swiveled his chair around again. "I have come to a decision." he said. "Oh?" asked Mecha. Robotnik stood up, and walked over to the master computer main control system. "This will be the SWAT bots' final mission." he said. Mecha's attention was suddenly focused on Robotnik. "What do you mean, sir?" he asked. "The SWATs are clumsy and hard to control." Robotnik replied. Mecha looked around. Various robot animals patrolled Robotnik's office. "Are you suggesting we use Robotized animals for attack operations?" Robotnik snickered. "No. Robotized animals are no good for anything except guards, and controlling Robotropolis. No, I suggest we simply upgrade the SWATs. Make them more sophisticated." "In what way, sir?" asked Mecha. Robotnik sighed. "I need a new design!" he said. "One that will FINISH KNOTHOLE, AND THAT BLASTED HEDGEHOG!" He banged his hand on a filing cabinet. A loose file drawer slid open - the bottom shelf. The 'minimum importance' shelf. Robotnik kneeled down to close it, and caught a glimpse of the contents. There were various files of deseaced Mobians, schematical information about primitive Badniks, and a robot called 'Silver Sonic', and various other junk. There was, however, something sitting in the front of the drawer. A book. Robotnik took it out, and studied it. On the cover, was printed 'Type 'E' Version '100' utility and attack droid'. Then Robotnik remembered. A few months back, Robotropolis had had a new resident, by the name of 'Axel Ringtail'. Axel hadn't liked the SWAT bots, so he gave Robotnik a book about the robots _he_ used. Robotnik flipped through the book, and smiled. Then, he handed it to Mecha. "Can you mass-produce this?" he asked. 

CHAPTER ONE: 

There was a flash of light. Sage turned around, and stared at the teleporter. He knew who it was. Seconds later, Knuckles materialised, and the glow faded. Sage grinned. "Yo, Knux!" "Hey, best bud!" replied Knux. "You been waiting for me, eh?" Sage snickered. "Just wondering how things are going on the Floating Island. Knuckles shrugged. "Same old thing. I've just been re-planting trees." "Excitement overload!" said Sage. Knux play-punched him in the arm. "You know how important that stuff is!" he said. Sage shrugged. "Glad I don't have that kind of responsibility!" The two began to walk towards Knothole, when suddenly there was a sound in the distance. Both echidnas stopped and turned. "Some kind of night creature?" asked Sage. Knux shook his head. "Animals don't have guns." he said. "And that noise was definately gunfire." There was a pause. "Maybe it's coming from Robotropolis." suggested Sage. Knuckles hesitated, but then continued walking. "I guess so." he said. But then they both heard a second sound, this one was a lot louder. And with it, they heard a chilling scream for help. Both echidnas turned and ran towards the sound. They ran for five minutes, and eventually found the source. Five huge SWAT bots were attacking someone. Neither Knux, nor Sage could see exactly who or what the victim was, but it was a female, judging by the voice. Sage instantly pulled out an arrow, aimed, and fired at the nearest robot. It fell down dead. Knux set to work punching the crud out of the remaining. It wasn't hard - there were only five. But Knuckles, more observant than Sage, began thinking. It was ever so strange to see merely five lone SWAT bots, out in the middle of the Great Forest at midnight, for no visible reason other than to beat up a helpless wanderer. His thoughts stopped when Sage yelled out his name. "Knux.... look!" He turned around, and saw something that shocked, surprised and worried both of them. The victim of the attack. She was on the ground, panting, covered in mud... and she was an echidna. 

Knuckles and Sage stared hypnotically at the echidna girl for a long time - it must have been five minutes. Then Knuckles muttered "Oh my..... Lord!" The strange echidna smiled a little. "Thank you for saving my life from those things!" "Uh... you're welcome!" said Sage. "Is something wrong?" asked the girl. "Uh... we're not used to seeing other echidnas." replied Sage. "Especially since we're supposed to be the only ones apart from the Chaos Isle." added Knux. The echidna girl smiled wider. "I'm from... a long way away." she said. "So... are you going to help me out of this mud puddle?" Knux shook his head to take himself out of his trance. "Oh.. sure." he said, reaching down and helping her to her feet. "So what's your name?" asked Sage. "Uh... Rose." replied the echidna. "Rose O'Sixty." Knuckles smiled. "I can't believe there is actually another echidna here!" he said. "And such a lovely one, at that!" Rose just turned to the side and blushed a little. "Come on, we'll take you back to Knothole!" Knux added. "Oh, you're freedom Fighters?" asked Rose. "COOL!" Sage stopped walking. "Yeah, how'd you know? Knothole is a secret village!" Rose's face went a little pale. "News... gets around." she said. A hurried excuse, but Sage and Knux didn't care. After all... the forest does have a lot of ears. It would probably be possible that _everybody_ knew about Knothole. The two took Rose back to the village, guiding her through the darkness. The sun would be up soon - so far, the echidnas were the only Knothole-dwellers awake. 

Mecha Sonic stood outside the gates of Robotropolis - on guard duty. He was beginning to get bored. Occasionallyl, he would pick up a rock, throw it into the air, and shoot it in mid-flight with his phaser beam, shattering it. Others would say he was showing off, if there was anybody around. But he was alone that night. Or so he thought. Eventually, his motion sensors picked up movement ahead of him. He dropped the rock he was holding, and aimed the phaser into the bushes, instead, waiting for more movement. Eventually, he saw two red eyes appear before him. They weren't like his own, Red pupils on black eyes, they were the opposite, black on red. "Hello." came a voice. It was screechy and high pitched. "State your name and business, Mobian." replied Mecha. There was a laugh. "My business is none of yours. And my name, what does it matter?" Mecha was not impressed. "State your name and business. Your second warning. I do not give many warnings." Suddenly, the eyes vanished. Mecha looked around, but could not see anything. His motion sensors picked up a lot of movement, but could not get a fix on where. He heard the voice again. "Mind if I have a bite?" it asked. Mecha did not reply. The fact that this creature was out-doing him angered him greatly. He had always considered himself more powerful than any living creature. Suddenly, the attack came. There was a screech, and something landed on his back. He couldn't get his gun up quick enough, before he heard a chomp on his shoulder. Then the thing fell off. He swung around, about to do a direct shot to the head, but he stopped when he noticed the figure was sprawling in pain. It was a bat. A tall brown bat, with wing-flaps on his arms that looked like a cape. He was making frustrated moaning sounds. "I HAVE SENSITIVE TEETH!" he screamed. "GEEZ! WHY HAVE YOU GOT THAT ARMOR ON!?! WHY ALL THE METAL!?!?" "It's standard robot construction material." Mecha replied. "Aaaw heck!" the bat complained. "Robot? No wonder!" Mecha walked up to him. "I am taking you to the dungeon." he said, calmly. "Any resistance will be met with death." "Yeah, whatever." came the reply. The bat obviously was paying more attention to his teeth than anything else. Mecha picked him up, and dragged him through the gates. He was met by another figure, half way to the dungeon. It was Packbell. "Look what I caught!" Mecha boasted. "I know." Packbell replied. "Robotnik saw the whole thing from his bedroom window. The prisoner is to stay the night in the dungeon, then be taken straight to Robotnik in the morning. Mecha hesitantly agreed to the orders. 

Sonic was incredibly surprised when he woke up the next morning. He came face to face with a female echidna. She was very beautiful, almost to the point of it being un-natural. "Her name is Rose O'Sixty." said Knux, smiling. Sonic stared at her. "O'Sixty? That's a strange name!" he said. "Eveyone in my village had strange names." replied Rose. "Where do you come from?" asked Sonic. There was a pause. "A long way away." came the reply. Sonic looked at her strangely. "I mean - are you from the Chaos Isle? Or another island?" Rose turned away. "I would like to see more of your village." she said to the two other echidnas. "Will you take me?" Knuckles and Sage smiled. "SURE!" they said, simultaniously. "Follow me!" said Knux. "Follow _us_!" Sage corrected. The three walked off in opposite directions. Then they looked around, frowned, and went the other way. It was rather strange behaviour. Sonic had always known them to be more co-ordinated. They eventually ended up going in the same direction, and dragged Rose along with them. Sonic frowned. The two were acting very strangely - Sonic could bet that they could have a minor crush on this echidna, after all, she was piercingly beautiful. Heck, even HE thought so, and he wasn't even her species. But there was something strangely... odd about her. She acted as if she didn't want to give any information about her origins. Also, Knux had told him that she was the victim of a huge SWAT bot attack - but why was she not harmed in any way? And why was she so incredibly calm about it all? Could be shock... anyway, he decided to find out as much as he possibly could about her, before he gained her complete trust. 

CHAPTER TWO: 

The relatively small bat trembled before the mighty throne that stood before him - of course, he didn't want Robotnik to think so. It didn't matter, he already knew. It made him happy. "So you are the woodland creature that out-did my top assassin machine?" he inquired. Mecha Sonic flinched, both embarrased and furious. The bat simply fondled his left fang and nodded. Robotnik frowned. He didn't seem to have the attitude of a great fighter. But, he forced himself to believe that it was because the creature was standing before the mightiest being on Mobius. He obviously knew how to treat authority. It made him happier. "Tell me your name." he boomed. The bat stood back a step. "Call me Vlad." he said, at last. Robotnik stood down from his throne. He was hardly any bigger than Vlad when he stood comparitively, which made the bat feel a little bolder. "What species are you?" Robotnik asked, eyeing the membranous flaps attached to his arms. "Isn't it obvious that I'm a bat?" asked Vlad. Then he thought a little, and in a deep voice, added "_Vampire_ bat." Robotnik stepped back, smiling. "Aaah... a vampire, eh?" he asked. "You bite necks and drink blood?" Vlad lowered his head a little, and began kicking the ground, nervously. "Well... not often." he replied. "I live on fruit and bugs, mostly. It's just... on the occasion that I need the nutrients." Robotnik sat upon his throne, again. "Are you always such a good fighter?" he asked. "Oh, YES!" Vlad replied, immediately. "I perform best at night - I use my dark colour as an advantage! I have incredible stealth!" He obviously enjoyed boasting about his stealth. Robotnik was very interested in this mobian. The first immediate thought that came into his head was "Throw him into the robotizer and use him against Knothole." But then he began to think more deeply. Sometimes, living organisms are better than robots. A metal covering would slow him down, wreck his flying ability, and completely destroy his night-time invisibility. No... he decided that this time, he would recruit a living member into his army. Of course, Mecha was insanely jealous. "This creature is no better than Soni.... Ssson.... the hedgehog." he said to himself. Robotnik simply grinned. "What would you say if I told you that I could give you all the blood you could ever want, anytime you want?" he asked. Vlad looked around at all the robots. "You have living things here?" he asked. Robotnik shook his head. "Not here - but I know where there is a large village, and it's filled with tasty morsals." he said. 

Rose the echidna finally reached the highlight of her tour. Knuckles and Sage opened the door to a large hut, to reveal the Knothole master computer. "Ooh!" squealed Rose. "Computers!!! We don't have many of them where I come from!!!" she begged the two echidnas to show her how to use it. Knux, boasting his computer skills, walked over and sat down at the controls. Rose leaned over him. He began typing in some commands to boot up the CPU. When he looked over his shoulder, he realised that Rose was staring at his fingers, as if to absorb every single command he punched in. Sage approached, and began fiddling with CD roms, trying to look as computer-smart as Knux. They spent an hour in there, showing Rose various computer games. "This is so exciting!" she squealed. "You guys are so smart! I'd never be able to do stuff like that! Knuckles and Sage blushed a little. At that moment, Sonic approached the hut, staring through the window. He hoped that the echidnas weren't straying too far from playing games - even though Rose was a perfectly harmless villager, it was always better left unknown to anyone how the Knothole computer systems work. After a while, they left to explore the rest of the village. Rose seemed hesitant, but went along with it. As they walked away, a familiar lizard-shaped figure approached the hedgehog. "Hey, Sonic!" it said. "Long time no see!" Sonic turned. "Hey, Shax!" he said. The large raptor looked at the echidnas walking away from the scene. "Say, Sonic..." he said "I thought there were only two echidnas in Knothole." Sonic frowned. "That was until the new recruit, over there." he said. "But aren't they nearly extinct, or something?" asked Shax. "That's what I thought." replied Sonic. "Her name is Rose. She won't tell anyone where she came from, or what she's doing here." Shax raised an eyebrow. "Looks like Knuckles and Sagittarius don't mind her." he said, watching the two echidnas flirting, and looking like complete twits. "Tsk tsk. Teenagers." Sonic frowned. "Uh... present company excepted." Shax added, quickly. "But Shax... _you're_ a teenager!" Sonic said. Shax shrugged. "Yeah, but we didn't act like THAT in the Jurrassic!" 

Packbell was busy working on the new 'E-100' robot. Robotnik was replacing the SWAT bots with E-100's, and Packbell was in charge of creating the first prototype. Of course, he was making some changes to the design. The original robots, created by Axel Ringtail, had the features of a pig. The large, bulbous body, with a pink head and snout, with two little red eyes. Packbell was making the style more like that of the EggRobo's that Robotnik used in Sky Sanctuary several years back. The new dominant colours were red, yellow and black, and the head was simply a small yellow attachment, with no features other than the two beady, round eyes. Its left arm was a long, thin, utility arm, extendable to two metres, with three thick black fingers. Its right arm, instead of a hand, had a huge round cannon on the end. This would indeed be a worthy successor to the SWAT bot. Packbell grinned as he banged the robot's hull with a hammer. "We'll make hundreds of E-100s" he said to himself. "And Robotnik shall finally be victorious over that blasted village!" He heard a noise behind him, and the electric door opened. The robot hedgehog, Mecha Sonic, stood there. "Greetings, Mecha!" said Packbell, with a smile. "Do you like my work?" Mecha looked over the robot. "Complete expertise!" he said, at last. "I changed the design to resemble EggRobo." said Packbell. "The boss seems to be quite vein about his appearance - this should impress him!" Mecha sighed. "Have you met the new resident of Robotropolis?" he asked. "You mean the bat I saw you with last night?" asked Packbell. Mecha nodded. "We shall be working with him from now on. Robotnik has hired him as leader of the E-100 attack force. Unfortunately, he is a ssssstupid living creature. He should be robotized on the spot!" Packbell shrugged. "We shall see. Perhaps he will prove himself." "That doesn't mean I have to like him." Mecha replied. "He is a living creature. I am a simple robot. It makes me angry, when something alive defeats me in combat." Packbell knew that what he really meant was that he was jealous, but he wasn't game to say it. "I hate anything alive." Mecha continued. "Except Ivo Robotnik. But then again, I am programmed in such a way that I cannot hate my master." 

Knuckles and Sage sat in their shared hut, that night, as usual. Rose had been offered the guest hut. "Wow.. isn't she GREAT!" said Knux. "You're not wrong!" replied Sage. Knux smiled. "I've never had a girlfriend before." he said. "Could have something to do with the fact that I'm the last echidna on the Floating Island, eh?" Sage frowned. "Girlfriend? She ain't your girlfriend, mate!" he said. Knux put on a michevious grin. "Not yet." he said. "How come you have to get all the hot chicks?" asked Sage. Knuckles bonked him on the head with a pillow. "'cos I've got class!" he replied. "What if she likes _me_?" asked Sage. "Uh huh. Right." replied Knuckles, sarcastically. That sparked a pillow fight. But, while they were attacking each other with pillows, Sonic had his own plans. He sneaked up to the guest hut, and listened. No sound. He peeked through the window. Rose simply sat on her bed, looking around. He stayed behind the hut for about ten minutes, and nothing happened. Then he stood back up, yawned, and giggled quietly to himself. He was only eavesdropping because of a hunch he had, and he really had no real reason. He decided to leave Rose to her privacy. But then, he heard a beeping sound. He looked around, but couldn't find the source. Then he realised that it was coming from within the hut. He looked through the window, and let out a long, hoarse gasp. Rose sat there on the bed, cross legged, with her arm straight up. A hatch was open on her wrist, and some sort of two-way radio was sticking out of it, held by her other hand. She was grinning. "This is O-6-T speaking." she said. "Come in Robotropolis." There was a pause. "Yes, I have been brought to Knothole. The plan worked perfectly." There was another pause. "Yes, I think the information will be given to me sooner than I thought. There are two creatures here of the species I was modelled after. Those pitiful things - as soon as they saw me, they began to fall at my feet and hail me as a god! These creatures are so lustful. All I have to do is play their game for a while, and I should be given access to every piece of information you need for your plan." Sonic gasped. He knew that she was strange, but he would never have suspected this. Rose was a robot spy, on a recon mission from Robotropolis. And she was right - all that needed doing was for her to pull a few strings, and Knuckles and Sage would be like putty in her hands. And Knothole's secrets would be doomed. Sonic became enraged, and began to climb through the window. But he stopped and dropped outside again, when he noticed the metre-long rifle that extended from Rose's arm. "If suspicion arises..." she started. Then, she loaded the weapon, and made a rather unnerving sound with her mouth, while running her finger across her throat. She was most certainly dangerous - Sonic decided that he would have to take great care with whom he discussed it with, and with how they would rid themselves of this mechanical witch... 

CHAPTER THREE: 

Robotnik shut off the speaker-phone, and turned to Mecha. "That was RO. SE. 0-6-T." he said. "Knothole has been breached. The eagle is in the nest." He grinned. "Excellent." replied Mecha. "Has any progress been made so far?" "Plenty." came the reply. "Apparently, the residents of the village are a little over-friendly. It won't be long. If things do not go exactly to plan, and if the required information is not acquired within the next couple of days, I may have to send a stealthy escort to... help things along." "May I offer my services?" asked Mecha. "We shall see." replied Robotnik. "You may not be required, or then again, you may. 0-6-T is quite skilled. All thanks to the creator." Mecha nodded. It was he who created the robot, and carefully made sure that the resemblance to a living echidna was un-mistakable. He quietly left the room, and walked outside. Soon, Packbell came to join him. "Aah, Packbell! How is the new prototype coming along?" Mecha asked. "Quite well." came the reply. "The first droid is near completion. I am nicknaming him 'Genesis'." Mecha nodded, and turned his attention to the stars. "Mecha Sonic, there is a question that I have been pondering for quite a while, now..." Packbell said. "I'm listening." replied Mecha. "I was just wondering... Why make the robot a female? Packbell asked. "Excuse me?" asked Mecha. "You know as well as I do how difficult a female personality is to manufacture." Packbell replied. "There are so many components. Robots like you and I have the personalities of emotionless soldiers, and could change our apparent gender simply by altering our voices, however, 0-6-T clearly has a female personality, complete with all the components of a intelligent female organism. Would the plan not have gone ahead if the subject had have been male?" there was a pause. "WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?" Mecha demanded, suddenly. "I was simply experimenting to produce greater and more advanced robots!" "Why?" asked Packbell. "I fail to see _any_ reason to experiment, when there is obviously no use for the experiments. What use do females have in a robotic society? There is no reproduction, no relationships... creating the personality is simply a waste of time and resources." Mecha became enraged. "I know what you are trying to say!" he scowled. "I have no longing to be with a female. I am programmed to follow orders, and that alone. I have no patience for this conversation!" He did a salute, and walked back inside the building. Packbell shook his head. "You are showing signs of emotion development." he said, even though Mecha couldn't hear him. "Ever since the expedition to the Chaos Isle, you have been showing signs of depression and weakening. For your own sake, I hope you go back to the old ways. I do not wish to see you dismanteled. 

A new day. All of Knothole awoke to face the morning, including Sonic, who prepared for the worst. What he got was more than he bargained for... Rose came out of her hut, and walked over to Knuckles. "Good morning!" said Knux, unusually cheerful. "Good morning, Knuckles!" replied Rose, fluttering her eyelids a little. Sonic's stomach lurched. "Anyting I can do for you?" asked Knuckles. "Well, now that you mention it..." Rose said "I would like to see that big computer again. You are just so skilled! I love the way your fingers move as you work on the keyboard!" As far as flirting goes, the robot was going WAY over the top. Knuckles didn't mind, though. "SURE!" he said, almost yelling. He began to guide Rose through the village to the computer station. He turned his head and winked at Sage, who was standing nearby. Sage frowned and ran after them. Sonic's eyes widened. Rose must have been after the computer codes! If Robotnik had that information, he could ruin Knothole's computer link-up, and that equipment would be near impossible to replace. He decided that Knux would never believe him, but perhaps Sage would listen to Sonic's secret. He ran to catch up to Sage, but soon changed his mind. While Knuckles and Sage had their heads turned, Rose brought out her gun and shot a fly that was buzzing around her head, without stopping to aim. The shot was absolutely silent, and deadly accurate. Sonic remembered what he had heard her say - Any suspicion would be met with death. If she could snipe like that, that would mean that if Sonic told _anyone_, he would be putting them in grave danger. No, this was something he'd have to do himself. He ran up to the echidnas, making a plan as he went. "Hey guys!" he shouted. The echidnas and the robot turned their heads. "How about a game of go-fish?" he asked. He knew that go-fish was Knuckles' favourite card game, and he won every time. If Knux wanted to show off, this was the easiest way. Knux smiled. "Hey, cool! OK!" he said. He turned to Rose. "How's about a game of cards?" "NO!" shouted Rose. "Uh... I mean.... I don't think I know how to play go-fish!" This made Knux smile wider. "Never fear! The world's greatest card player will teach you!" he said, pointing to himself. Rose began to protest, but realised it was hopeless. "The cards are on the desk in my hut!" said Sonic. "I'll be there in just a second." The echidnas walked to Sonic's hut, while Sonic raced away in the other direction. He found his way to the main computer, and hit the 'on' button. The CPU began to boot up, and then the password prompt came up. "This is for our own good." Sonic said to himself, punching in the password. "If Knothole's secrets are to remain safe, I'll have to make it so that not even Knothole knows the access code." He clicked on several things, and eventually found the option he was searching for. The 'change main password' option. He punched in a new password, and pressed 'enter'. Now Knuckles couldn't spill secrets to Rose, even if he wanted to. 

"Got any sixes?" "Go fish." "Any eights?" "Go fish" 

Rose was becoming increasingly bored. "I do not see any point to this game." she said. "What does this accomplish? Just repeating the same words over and over, and occasionally exchanging cards." Knuckles shrugged. "It's just fun!" Rose didn't understand the concept of 'fun'. She thought it was all just a stupid waste of time. Especially when she could be on the computer, gathering data. Eventually, the game finished. Knuckles won, as usual. Then, Rose went all flirty again. "I'm sure you're as good at computer games as you are at cards!" she said. Knux blushed. "I guess I am!" he said. "Wanna see?" Rose grinned. "Thought you'd never ask!" 

"I just... don't get it!" Knux said. Again, he typed in the password, and was faced with a 'access denied' message. "BUT THIS IS THE PASSWORD!!!" he yelled, banging the side of the monitor with his hand. "I'll have to get Rotor to look into it." said Sally, nearby. She raced to find Rotor, and came back in five minutes later, along with the puzzled walrus. Rotor typed the password in a few times, got the same error message each time, and stopped to ponder in between. "Nothing's wrong." he said at last. "Not with the computer, anyway. It's just that some sneaky so-and-so has been messing with the password. I could hack back in, but the password is twelve characters long, with forty-nine different symbols to choose from in each block. It will take a mighty long time!" Rose did her best to hide her fury, and then walked out of the hut, towards her guest hut. "These creatures are so stupid." she said to herself. "This mission will be harder than I first realised." 

"Results may be delayed, sir." said the female voice on the other side of the speaker-phone. "It seems that the villagers themselves don't even know their own access code!" Robotnik growled a little. "I shall send an escort to hasten things up a little." he said. "Doctor, I think you are jumping to conclusions!" came the reply. "I can handle it, I just need more time!" Robotnik banged his fist on the desk. "I WANT RESULTS!" he yelled. "I GIVE THE ORDERS HERE!!! I am sending help, and THAT IS FINAL!" He slammed his finger on the 'hang up' button. Mecha heard the conversation, and immediately began to walk towrads Robotnik, knowing he would be chosen to assist in the mission. "VLAD!! GET IN HERE!!" Robotnik yelled. Mecha froze. "You are sending Vlad?" he asked. "That's right!" replied Robotnik. "Do you question my decisions?" "No, but..." "GOOD! Mecha, you are nowhere near as stelthy as Vlad. You could not possibly undertake this delicate mission. You would be detected, and destroyed." Mecha went silent, his eyes ablaze with fury. It had only been two days, and his hatred of the bat nearly equalled his hatred of Sonic. Almost. 

Night fell in Knothole once again. Almost all of the villagers were crammed in the computer hut, attempting to crack the password. Sonic, however, was in his own hut, trying to figure out what to do. Who to tell. Currently, Rose didn't suspect him of knowing, and he wasn't game to tell anyone, in case he wound up getting someone shot. Then again, if he explained the situation properly, they would probably be careful. He just didn't know what to do. He would be doing more eavesdropping on the robot tonight, but what he didn't know was that the forest has eyes, and he was about to make a mistake. 

Sage walked into the hut where Knuckles was. "You make me sick." he said. Knuckles looked surprised. "Whatever do you mean?" Sage frowned. "The way you flirt with that girl. You look like a complete idiot! She couldn't possibly like you!" Knuckles frowned. "Hey! SHE flirts with ME! She's hot for me! I just go along with the ride!" Sage became more angry. "SHE'S JUST TRYING TO GET RID OF YOU! You are an annoying little jerk! I can detect her little advances towards me. She likes me, and you're trying to wrestle her away from me!" Knuckles shot up. "THAT IS PERPOSTEROUS!" he yelled. "SHE VIRTUALLY HASN'T SAID A WORD TO YOU SINCE I RESCUED HER THAT NIGHT!" "_YOU_ RESCUED HER?!?!?" said Sage, almost screaming, his face turning beet red (Even though it was already red to begin with). "_I_ WAS THE ONE WHO CLEARED MOST OF THOSE BOTS! I HAVE MORE SKILL THAN YOU'LL _EVER_ HAVE!!!!" Knux, proud of his fighting skills, was greatly insulted. Adrenaline rushed through his body. "YOU THINK I'M NOT A GOOD FIGHTER!??!" he screamed. "Pathetic." replied Sage. Suddenly, Knuckles rushed towards him. "REALLY? WELL CHECK THIS OUT!!!" He drew his arm back, and thrust his fist at Sage's head, making an impact that literally threw Sage across the room. Knuckles gasped, and rushed to his victim's aid. Sage was bleeding and battered, but still consious. "God! Are you alright!?" asked Knuckles. "YOU BA****D!" screamed Sage, picking himself up, and storming out of the hut. "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE USED TO BE FRIENDS!!! I'M NEVER SPEAKING WITH YOU AGAIN!!!" Knuckles became angry again. "FINE WITH ME!" he called back. "IF YOU EVER TRY TO SPEAK TO ME AGAIN, EXPECT ANOTHER UPPERCUT!" "NO NEED FOR YOU TO WORRY ABOUT THAT! IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN!" "GOOD!" Knuckles stormed back into the hut, and slammed the door shut. How dare that measly little weakling call him a pathetic fighter! Oh well, he wouldn't try anything like that again for a while. 

Sally was walking along the dark dirt road through Knothole, looking for Sonic. Suddenly, she came across a sleeping bag, with an echidna inside. "Wouldn't a nice warm hut be more comfortable than cold stone in the middle of Winter, Sage?" she asked. Sage sat up. "No. Not when the nice warm hut has an angry red jerk inside." Sally was surprised. "You and Knuckles had a fight?" she asked. "Yeah." replied Sage. "He's being a complete jerkoff. His personality has changed for the worse, because he has the STUPID idea that Rose likes him. It's STUPID! Why would such a great person like a jerk like him?" Sally giggled. "So this is all about a girl?" she asked. Sage dropped back into the sleeping bag, without replying. "You'll survive." said Sally. "Have you seen Sonic around?" "I think I saw him go that way." replied Sage, pointing. Sally heard a noise in the direction he was pointing, and began to walk. She was a little nervous, ever since Sonic reported being attacked by a mysterious creature in the forest. 

Vlad put a giant beetle in his mouth, and began to chew. "Needs salt." he said, swallowing. He searched for another beetle, but heard someone approaching. He immediately made himself invisible in the darkness, and waited for it to walk by. The figure sat down, and peered in at Rose in the hut, as if spying. Vlad watched through the bushes. It was a hedgehog, and there was something quite familiar about him. Of course! Just the other night, he attacked this hedgehog in the forest! And he was spying on Rose! Vlad's head filled with devilish thoughts. He hadn't had a good meal for a while. He began to creep up to Sonic, who was too busy watching Rose to notice. He stood right beside the hedgehog, spread his wings, and began to hiss... 

CHAPTER FOUR: 

"Sonic!" called Sally. Vlad, detecting her presence, had already jumped into the bushes and hid himself. "Shhh!" hissed Sonic. Sally kneeled beside him. "Why are you spying on the guest?" she asked. Sonic crept around the back of the hut, grabbing and tugging Sonic with him. "Listen, Sal." he said. "I've found out something about the 'guest', and I think you should know." Vlad watched them leave, snickering to himself. 

Rose stopped adjusting her chest plate, and looked up to see Vlad dance into the hut. "I know something you don't know!" he kept singing, dancing around like an idiot. "I severely doubt it." replied Rose, looking down again. "Well pardon me, Mrs. DULL!" said Vlad. "Get back to adjusting yourself! Don't mind me, I'm just an INFERIOR ORGANISM!" "What is it you have to tell me, fool?" Rose asked. "Oooh! Big word!" Vlad snapped back. "For your information, it turns out that our friend, the blue hedgehog, knows about your not-so 'living' secret! And he is telling the brown lady squirrel as we speak! Soon, the whole VILLAGE will know!" "Is this information accurate?" asked Rose. "NO!" replied Vlad. "I just made up the whole thing, because I felt like saying a whole lot of crap, and peeving you off, to see what a robot looks like when it's angry." Rose frowned. "Fine. I wish Robotnik hadn't have sent a creature that makes up stories." She got back to what she was doing, and there was a long silence. Eventually, Vlad stood up. "I was being SARCASTIC, you idiot!" he yelled. "What is sarcastic?" asked Rose. "I do not know this word." Vlad slapped his forehead. "It means that when I say something, I mean the opposite!" Rose looked at him strangely. "What is the point to that?" she asked. Vlad thought for a second. "Come to think of it, I'm not exactly sure." he said. "It makes you sound tough." "So your story is in fact true?" Rose asked. Vlad nodded. Rose simply extracted her gun, an left the hut. "Time for an ol' fashioned assassination, eh?" asked Vlad. "Affirmative." replied Rose. 

Tails moaned, and sat up in his bed. He could see Sonic's sillhouette. "Sonic?" he moaned. "Sorry to wake you, bro." said Sonic. "But I have to ask you for a favour." "Anything!" replied Tails (It wasn't often that Sonic needed a favour from him. "I need the Chaos Emeralds." said Sonic "But I have to keep an eye on things here. You know where they are, right?" Tails nodded. "If you get them for me, I'll treat you to an extra-large round of chilli dogs!" Tails grinned, and ran out the door. 

Sally was standing in her hut, thinking about the dilemma. Sonic had just informed her about the situation, and she was deciding the best way to handle a dangerous robot, without anybody being hurt. Rose stood at the window, aiming up her shot. Unlike the other robots in Robotropolis, her eyes didn't glow. In her current position in the dark, she was completely invisible. Suddenly, Sonic opened the door, and entered the hut. Sally turned to him. Sonic began to speak, but he heard a faint 'poit', Sally's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed on the ground. Running to her aid, Sonic noticed a figure disappear from the window. The robot had struck. 

"HEY! You're back!" said Vlad. "Was there a lot of splatter? Any left for me? I'm starved! I usually eat food live, but hey! Beggars can't be choosers, right?" Rose looked around. "She may have survived." she said. "There were complications." Vlad's expression dropped. "You missed? Aw, man! Is THIS ever gonna cause problems!" Rose frowned. "You pitiful creature! I told you before, _I_ am the boss. Stop hassling me, or it is YOU who will have 'lots of splatter'." Vlad frowned and sat down. "Now.." said Rose, thinking. "We must obtain the password to the computer system." Just then, light poured into the room, and the sun appeared in the window. Vlad's eyes lit up. "OH NOOO!" he screamed. "SUNRISE! AAAAGH!!" He sank onto the floor. "I'm melting! I'm melting! OOh! What a world!" He flopped onto the floor, still. Rose walked up, and nudged him with her foot. Suddenly, he shot up. "BOO! Haha... just a little joke there.." Rose continued to stare. "VAMPIRE!" said Vlad. "Vampires hate sunlight! 'Cos they're dead! But I'm not really a vampire, I'm just a bat... aaw forget it!" Rose turned. "Imbecile." she muttered. "Well it isn't my fault that you have no sense of humor!" Vlad shot back. "We shall wait until the fall of night, before we search for the password." Rose said. "I suspect it will be written somewhere in the hedgehog's residence. You have more stealth than I, will you be able to undertake the mission?" Vlad nodded. "I suppose, if I have no prior arrangements. I'll have to check my little black book." 

Sally lay on the bed in the hospital, a wound in her shoulder. Rotor said that if she hadn't have turned when she did, the bullet would have hit her forehead, killing her instantly. "Who did this?" asked Streak, outside. "An assassin." replied Sonic, coldly. "A robot assassin." "Mecha Sonic? He was here?" Sonic shook his head. "Another robot. One who lives right here in Knothole." Streak looked surprised. "You mean Bunnie? That's impossible!" Sonic shook his head again. "Streak, you're trustworthy. I have to tell you something." As they walked away, four eyes were watching them. "You see what happens when you leave witnesses?" asked Vlad. "Shut up." replied Rose. "All will be made right again." "You better be careful tryin' to shoot that guy." said Vlad. "I've seen him run. Besides, he'll be extra jumpy, after your near-miss." Rose grinned. "I have no intention of shooting him." she said. "It will arouse much suspicion. No, I have another plan. But I may need a power boost. I expect Robotnik sent the battery?" "I hid it in the bushes last night." replied Vlad. "Excellent." said Rose. "Fetch it, will you?" "Rightio!" 

Sage and Knuckles stood outside the hospital. "I hope she'll be alright." said Sage. Knuckles frowned. "Oh really? How do we know YOU didn't do it?" Sage laughed. "What?" Knuckles wasn't smiling. "Well, you WERE outside, last night. And you ARE a good shooter." "ARROWS!" yelled Sage, suddenly. "I shoot ARROWS! You're just trying to make ME out to be the bad guy, just because you are so JEALOUS! You are being SO STUPID!" "Jealous of WHAT?" Knux demanded. "I thought you weren't speaking to me!" said Sage. "I'M NOT!" yelled Knuckles. Suddenly, Petals walked up. "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!!!" she screamed. They obeyed. "You're arguing over that new chick, right? I have NO DOUBT that that gal wouldn't like EITHER of you! You are both being complete idiots, and you're getting on everybody's NERVES!" The echidnas just stared. It was rare for any kind of wisdom to come out of Petals' mouth. The two turned, and walked in separate directions. 

CHAPTER FIVE: 

Sage was downright furious. His former friend Knuckles was really bugging him. He had pay him back. So, he decided to pay a visit to Rose, and tell her about his attraction to her. To snatch her up before Knuckles did. He knocked on the door. Nobody answered. Slowly, he opened the door. Rose was sitting there. She looked surprised. "Sagittarius!" she said. "Hi Rose!" Sage said, nervously. Before he could say anything else, another figure appeared in the hut. "Hey, Rose, I think someone's at the door!" Sage looked at the strange bat. "Who are you?" he asked. The bat rolled his eyes. "I'm....uh....I'm..." "Yeah! Who are you?" demanded Rose, standing up. But something was holding her down. Sage's eyes drifted again. "Uh... Rose..." he said, nervously. "You...you have a wire coming out of your back." Rose looked down at the wire attached to the battery, and then back up at Sage. Sage took a step backwards. "Get him." said Rose. Grinning, the bat walked towards Sage. Sage picked up his bow, and grabbed an arrow, loading it. "Stay back!" he said. Vlad began to run. Sage released the arrow, but Vlad jumped into the air, using his wings to stay up. Sage shot another arrow, but Vlad was too quick. He grabbed the arrow with his hands, turned it around, and whacked Sage over the head with it, knocking him out cold. 

"So many complications!" Yelled Rose. "So much suspicion..." Vlad frowned. "I think we should kill him. Come ON! I'm STARVED! A bat cannot live on bugs alone!" "Silence!" shouted Rose. "The echidna may be useful. He shall remain alive until his purpose has been exhausted." Vlad let out a long, dragged out moan. "Stay here." Rose said. "I shall put my plan into action." "Fine." came the reply. "Bring me back something sweet." But Sage had his own ideas. He was tied up in the back room of the hut, with a wicked lock sealing it. Straining, he managed to reach the hair-tie that held back his dreadlocks. He pulled it off, and found a small pin embedded in the material. It was all he needed. He reached into the lock with it, and began picking. 

Rose stood in the middle of the village, where everyone was gathered around the hospital. "Everybody!" she shouted. Most of the villagers turned. "I know who shot Sally!" she continued. This captured everyone's attention. Sonic and Streak looked on nervously. Rose walked towards them. "I was scared to tell you, at first, but the culprit is HIM!" She pointed an accusing finger at Sonic. Sonic jumped back, as if expecting a bullet to come out. All the villagers turned and stared in disbelief at the hedgehog. "It is true!" Rose said, frowning. "I was passing by, and I saw through the window! Sonic walked into the hut, Sally turned, and Sonic, carrying a small concealed weapon, shot her! He aimed for the head, but he missed!" There was a long silence, and then a villager, a grey wolf, stepped out from the crowd. "It's true!" he said to the others. "I saw Rose at Sally's window last night, I saw Sonic enter the hut, and I saw Rose run away in fear!" The chattering became very angry-sounding. Sonic was afraid, and Rose was grinning. If Sonic became the center of suspicion, she would be free to complete her mission. She began to walk back to the hut, but suddenly, something came whizzing through the air towards her. It hit her in the back, went all the way through, and came out her stomach. The crowd fell dead silent. 

EPILOGUE: 

Rose stood on the path, with a 30 cm arrow through her abdomen. She turned, and saw Sage standing on a hill behind her. She growled, and began to pull the arrow out, much to the amazement of the villagers. She hurled the broken arrow at the ground, and extracted a larger-than-usual gun from her arm. Sage gulped, and bounded away, avoiding the bullets. Rose squinted, and some kind of apparatus grew from her back. It was a rocket pack. She blasted into the air after Sage, shooting bullets all the way. Then she noticed the startled look on the villagers' faces. She stopped and hovered. "Do you find me intimidating?" she asked. No reply. She grinned. "I had you all fooled!" she yelled. "Rose O'Sixty? Oh PLEASE! I AM RO.SE.0-6-T! RObotic SErvant number 0-6-T, if you want to drag it out!" Streak pulled back his hands, and let out a stream of lightning, electrocuting the robot, and knocking her out of the sky. Instead of crashing, she twisted like a falling cat and landed on her feet. In front of her was Knuckles, near fainting point. The only thing he could say was "Um... you're a robot." There was a pause, and then she burst out laughing. "NO!" she yelled. "I'm NOT a robot! I was simply embedded with a rocket and a gun into my flesh, after a bizarre industrial accident!" Knuckles looked confused. RO.SE. lifted her gun and aimed it at his head. "I was being SARCASTIC you idiot!" she said. "It means that when I say something, I mean the opposite!" Before she could shoot, something whacked her. She looked, and saw a bright yellow creature. It was Super Sonic. RO.SE. growled, and pumped five bullets into him. He fell back a little, but, of course, that was not the desired effect. "You're bullets can't harm ME!" said Super Sonic. "I'm invincable to just about everything!" RO.SE. turned her rockets on full blast, plowing into him, and knocking him over. Then, she picked him up and threw him. This was a particularly strong robot, and it seemed that not even Super Sonic could drive it off. "I AM SUPERIOR TO YOU ALL!" she screamed. "NOBODY CAN STOP ME! SURRENDER NOW!" Super Sonic slammed into her, then she slammed into him. Then, suddenly, as Super Sonic bashed her into the open, something grabbed hold of her. It was Knuckles. Before the robot had a chance to break loose, Knux screamed "NOW!!!" All of a sudden, at least twenty arrows came whizzing through the air, each one going through the robot's chest with a 'thok'. After they all hit target, Knuckles began bashing into the robot's head with his fist. The robot became dented, then sparks started flying. "ERROR!" she screamed. "PRIMARY POWER NO LONGER IN OPERATION!!! SHUTTING DOWN SYSTE....SYSTE...SySte...systems." Then the robot collapsed in a heap. Knuckles and Sage gave each other 'five'. Sally stepped out of the hospital, her shoulder bandaged. "Have Knuckles and Sage been fighting again?" she asked. Sonic de-activated his powers, and looked over at the echidnas, who were rap-dancing together, being cheered by the village. "Nope." he said. "I think those matters have cleared up." 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'DESTROYED'?!?" screamed Robotnik at the trembling bat. Vlad gulped. "The villagers destroyed your robot." he repeated. "WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM?" Robotnik demanded. "ARE YOU KIDDING?" asked Vlad. "There was a yellow guy there, with sparks flying off him, that wasn't injured by bullets! There was one guy who could shoot electricity out of his fingers, one who was shooting arrows like nothing of this world! And one guy had these dirty great big spikes on his hands, and was punching the crap out of everything in sight! I was lucky to escape!" Robotnik moaned, and leaned back on his throne. "Another plan ruined." he mumbled. "AND I'M STILL HUNGRY!" shouted Vlad. Then, a robot entered the room. Not Mecha or Packbell, but a short stubby robot. Robotnik (despite his rotten mood) grinned. The small robot looked up at him with beady green eyes. "So you are E-100 Genesis." Robotnik said. "Packbell has done excellent work on your design!" Vlad walked up to the robot. "This robot isn't as bossy as the last one, is it?" he asked. But that would be another story. 

THE END 

SERIES TWO CHRONOLOGY:   
1. The New Girl   
2. Dragon the Chain   
3. Never Say Nemesis   
4. When a Hedgehog Meets a Fox   
5. Just Your Imagination   
6. Shred   
7. The Death Machine   
8. Metal Made Flesh   
9. Power Corrupts   
10. Halfway Across the Galaxy   
11. Two For One   
12. Prologue to an Adventure   
13. Adventure

   [1]: http://www.stas.net/1/shax/Virtualden.html
   [2]: mailto:Shaxr@angelfire.com



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